Not applicable.
This apparatus relates to registers or dampers which have louvers for the control of air flow into a room, and more particularly, to an ergonomically accessible air flow control mechanism wherein a plurality of louvers"" control access point is adaptable to any predetermined distance below the face plate of the register for ease of manipulation of the amount and direction of the air flow through the register.
Many of today""s homes, as well as business and industrial buildings utilize climate control systems in which the air ducts terminating into a room or other enclosure is mounted on the ceiling thereof. This is largely due to the simplified design of climate control systems afforded by the routing of air ducts through attic recesses which have space available for placement therein. Air vents or Registers are typically mounted at the terminating portion of the air duct and are oriented generally flush with the plane of the ceiling in order to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance as well as to provide a means to control the amount of airflow and to direct the airflow so that the conditioned air is evenly dispersed throughout the room. This means to control the airflow""s quantity and direction is accomplished via louvers which are rotatably mounted on the register""s housing. A lever or other control mechanism is provided at the bottom portion of the register so that a user may manually manipulate the rotational position of the louvers and thus control the direction and amount of airflow through the register. Nevertheless, because the manually operated control mechanism is mounted in close proximity to the register and the register is mounted generally flush with the ceiling, most users cannot easily reach the manually operated control mechanism without the aid of a stepstool, ladder, or the like. Even worse, if a ladder or other device is not readily available, the user may attempt to reach the control mechanism using a chair or other non-standard device, which could be potentially dangerous. Nevertheless, because the control mechanism is ergonomically inaccessible, many users opt to not bother adjusting the control mechanism in spite any thermal discomfort they may feel or energy savings they could effect by closing the control mechanism when the room is not in use. Even more importantly, many residences or commercial building structures have rooms that are used sparingly. Examples of such rooms include guest bedrooms, unused offices, storage rooms, or the like which although used occasionally, mostly remain vacant. To not turn off the airflow to these rooms during vacant periods is a needless waste of energy. Throughout the remainder of this document, registers, air vents, and dampers will be hereinafter referred to as registers.
Examples of several devices that provide for a means of manual adjustment of the amount and direction of airflow through the register are U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,739 to Dry, U.S. Pat. No. 3,682,085 to Dennis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,154 to Biggi, U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,430 to Koppang, U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,951 to Vork, U.S. Pat No. 4,907,500 to Brown, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,435,962 to Herron et al. Nevertheless, all of these designs suffer in that the manually control mechanism is positioned in close proximity to the register. Therefore, if the register is mounted on the surface of a ceiling of a room, a user must initially find a means of reaching the control mechanism before control of the airflow through the register may be realized.
What is needed is a manually operated control mechanism for the control of louvers rotatably connected to a register which is ergonomically accessible to any user. The control mechanism should be easily adaptable for use on ceilings of any height. In addition, the control mechanism should be adaptable to any type of register which is mounted on the ceiling of any room including bedrooms, offices, or the like.
The present invention provides a solution to these needs via a register having an ergonomically accessible airflow control mechanism for control of the louvers of a register mounted on the ceiling of a room. The airflow control mechanism includes a pull chain arrangement means which dangles from the surface of the face plate and is easily adaptable to hang any distance therebelow for easy access by a user. Therefore, the louvers may be easily manipulated without the need for any tools such as ladders or louver adjustment devices to extend the user""s effective reaching capability.
One aspect of the present invention is the increased energy saving capability afforded through the use thereof. All prior art teachings disposed the airflow control mechanism in close proximity to the register""s face plate. The ramifications of these earlier types of designs required the user to climb on objects such as ladders or employ the use of specialized tools to reach the control mechanism. Because the control system was not ergonomically accessible, many users opted to not bother with the control mechanism in spite of the costs incurred via cooling or heating an unused room unnecessarily. The present invention solves these problems via a control mechanism which is easily accessible and controllable.
Another aspect of the present invention is the increased comfort level attainable thereby. The normal airflow patterns through an entire building can be disrupted due to a closed door which inherently obstructs normal airflow from room to room. The present invention provides an easy means to adjust air flow entering a room to counteract the effect of a closed door on the air flow patterns of a normally designed climate control system. In addition, the present invention allows individuals who are xe2x80x9chot naturedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ccold naturedxe2x80x9d to have the ability to more precisely tailor the temperature of a particular room to suit his or her own tastes.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an ergonomically accessible airflow control mechanism for a register which is the control mechanism is easily accessible by a user for the control of amount and direction of airflow through a register.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an ergonomically accessible air flow control mechanism for a register that is highly versatile for use on any height of room, whereas the pull chain arrangement means is easily adaptable to dangle any vertical length below the register""s face plate.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an ergonomically accessible airflow control mechanism for a register that is inexpensive to produce as well as inexpensive to operate. Further, the present invention will effect energy savings in that climatized airflow to unused or rarely used rooms can be turned off or turned down in order to reduce unnecessary cooling or heating thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an ergonomically accessible air flow control mechanism for a register that is inconspicuous and aesthetically pleasing finish to a room""s decor; the only visible portion of the control mechanism being a pull chain arrangement means which dangles from the register.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an ergonomically accessible airflow control mechanism for a register that is adaptable to any commonly accepted size and type of register which contains rotatable louvers for the control of airflow therethrough. Moreover, any register design could benefit from the teachings of this invention by creating a more easily accessible control means for the control of airflow therethrough.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent to those familiar with the construction and use of registers and will become apparent in the following portions of the specification, wherein the detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing preferred embodiments of the invention without placing limitations thereon.